"Hey, man."
I'm used to this now, or I ought to be. Of all the characters I've been talking to, this one has the most well-developed… voice.
"I had professional help, you should know. But I've brought a friend since you two need to work together a bit more."
"Hello, Miki, nice to seeya. I mean, see you."
She laughs, a throaty, comfortable laugh.
"Meet Natsume Ooe. She's the one who got me started with this anyway. World-class journalist, bit stiff but generally very nice. Yeah, nice."
It's as if my lighting's suddenly gone astray. The young lady who's now sitting next to Miki has her legs primly but uncomfortably crossed at the ankle. She's in a simple white cotton blouse and a faded denim skirt that's a lot longer than Miki's. But the main thing is her eyes. They're green-gold and lignite-brown, one each.
"It's called heterochromia. You know all about that, though. I've watched you do the research, from the day you first saw Aura's avatar. You're doing fine, and nobody's really angry at you yet, so you won't make a journalist. Story-teller, that's about right. Pleased to meet you."
I stare at her. This is one person I don't know much about, and the itch to want to know more is getting to me.
"Aha. I've seen that look before. It's perhaps better for me to reassure you that my story's out of bounds, and I'm only here because I promised Miki I'd lend her my support. She gets really shy around you sometimes, perhaps worse than Ikezawa used to be. Hey!"
Miki's just slugged her gently in back of the head with her left fist, a gloved prosthetic that looks rather stylish.
"Man, my friends are all like that. Just cos I'm good-natured, they tease. A lot."
She grins at me.
"But so do I, right? Ha. See you later!"
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For those interested in Tsushima cats,
here's a starting link for you.
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